avalance first kiss
by secretkeeper0024
Summary: ava has an emotional reaction to sara's declaration. Complete.


Sara was standing on a circular rug in the middle of the room, looking over at Ava sitting bolt upright in an armchair. Sara was only a little pink but Ava had paled significantly. It felt like many minutes had passed. "You what?" Ava's voice came out partly husky and partly in a squeak, she was staring at Sara without blinking and her mouth hung open in disbelief.

Sara was caught off guard by Ava's reaction, well the strength of it at least. She took a slow deep breath, and repeated her message. "I like you". She slid her hands into her pockets and rocked back on her heels, wondering if she would not have been better off pretending she had been misunderstood the first time.

But she had come this far. And it was the truth. Their instant dislike of each other, the one upmanship, the constant rivalry had months ago given way to a grudging respect, growing cooperation and even some understanding. And on Sara's side, something more still. Ava was incredibly attractive, intelligent, highly skilled, hardworking and successful. She was also conceited and showed little evidence of a sense of humour. Yet Sara was drawn to her.

Even now. Despite her looking totally aghast. If Sara had insulted her, Ava would have immediately and effectively responded. But kindness or admiration appeared to have deeply unsettled her. Sara was captivated by Ava at the best of times and right now she was fascinated by her reaction. The confident, arrogant, self assured, smart ass had evaporated. In her place sat a quiet, panic stricken, pale, fragile person.

Sara was tempted to offer comfort but decided closer observation may provide a clue to how to best support Ava. Sara watched Ava's long legs unfold, she stood up, her knees shook visibly, her eyes trained on her hands which were worrying themselves without cease. She stepped away from the armchair but standing seemed to be out of the question and she sank on to the arm of the sofa.

Eventually she croaked "are you sure?". "Yes", Sara replied simply.

Ava slid down the arm of the chair, onto the sofa and leaned forward, plunging her face into her hands. It suddenly dawned on Sara that perhaps she had miscalculated. Perhaps what she thought was mutual interest was not that at all. And what she had presumed to be nervousness on Ava's part was concern about turning her down without jeopardising their professional relationship.

Oh crap. Clearly she had mistaken the situation and made poor Ava so extremely uncomfortable. "Its ok, Ava, really. No problem. You're not interested and I've gone and made this all awkward - I'm sorry. But listen, its ok. No drama, it doesn't have to be a big deal."

Ava's head popped up out of her hands and her eyes pierced Sara's, "So, you don't like me?"

"I do like you but clearly I've made you very uncomfortable."

"No, No. I mean, yes. I was caught off guard, Im sorry. I am just… What a mess I've made. Ive liked you for such a long time and I had no idea of your ever liking me. I just was shocked. Taken by surprise and felt like I shouldn't believe it." Ava fumbled through her explanation, her eyes darting everywhere but at Sara.

"You've liked me for a long time? Wow, who knew?"

"And, I've just been thinking how very brave you are to have said that." Ava's hands began worrying again but her head stayed up and her eyes remained somewhat in Ava's direction.

"Brave?"

"It's so lovely to be able to stand there as you did and tell a person you like them. To risk getting hurt or rejected. The more I thought about how brave you are, the more frightened I began to feel, myself."

With her hands clenching and unclenching, her long fingers twisting and pinching, Ava held her breath and made herself look at Sara. She gave her a small miserable smile and glanced back down at her fingers, and let out her breathe in a slow steady stream.

Unsure how her mind made such a connection - Sara was reminded of horses. She seemed to remember something about not making sudden movements around skittish horses. One had to project calmness and kindness, to earn the trust of the horse and let it come to you.

"So, I like you and you like me?" ventured Sara in a soft low voice, hoping to end the cross talk and bring the two women together, on the same page. She continued to watch Ava, her colour had begun to return but she clearly remained quite ill at ease.

"Apparently. And you are brave and I am a scaredy cat." Ava glanced at Sara and offered another weak smile. She tore her hands apart and smoothed down her slacks. She shook her head a little and took a deep breath in an effort to gain some equilibrium.

"Scared of me?"

"Yup. And me." Ava attempted to stand up again and was successful in her second attempt. Her hands still shook but she appeared to be more in control of herself, even though her fingers fidgeted with the seam of her pants, the opening of her pockets, a button or two at her cuff.

Sara watched her intently. It occurred to her that she liked watching Ava. Noting her mannerisms, the movements of her fingers, the toss of her head. Ava could arch her right eyebrow while skewering you with a piercing stare and with her mouth she gives a derisive tsk just before she dismantles you, intellectually or physically. Sara liked how Ava planted her feet, like she was there, anywhere, on her own terms. She was a force to be reckoned with, no doubt.

As the minutes ticked by Ava's breathing became steady, her fidgets eased and eventually her eyes were able to hold Sara's gaze. It was then that Sara noticed her own heart miss a beat, she caught her breath. Her pocketed hands were suddenly moist and when she tried to swallow she noticed how dry her mouth had become. She stopped rocking back on her heels and found that her knees were just a little less dependable than she was used to.

Ava took three evenly spaced steps forward across the rug, landing directly in front of Sara, their eyes still intently locked. Ava was now close enough to see Sara's freckles, her dimpled chin, her sparkling blue eyes. Sara watched Ava's blue grey coloured eyes take in all these little wonders and held her breath.

Ava took a smaller step forward, until she was almost touching Sara's body. She leaned forward and laid her head on Sara's shoulder, near her collar bone. Ava closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of Sara's skin. It felt simultaneously both natural and incredible, soothing and exhilarating.

Neither of them moved for a long minute. Both wanted to savour this moment. In time Ava's gently arms encircled Sara's waist and Sara closed any remaining distance between them by wrapping her arms around Ava's shoulders and pulling her body in closely. It seemed as though their breathing began to synchronise and their hearts beat together.

Their thoughts must have merged as well because as Sara was contemplating the delights of kissing Ava, Ava lifted her head from Sara's shoulder. Ava's eyes looked over Sara's hair, her eyes, her face and her lips. As she looked into Sara's eyes a second time, Ava bent her forward and placed the softest, most delicious kiss Sara had ever tasted onto Sara's lips.

Sara's breath was caught in her throat and she resisted the urge to close her eyes. She dragged both her flat hands from behind Ava's neck, across the back of her shoulders and ran her fingers up either side of her neck. One hand entwined itself in Ava's hair and the other framed her face. She leaned up on her tip toes to return Ava's kiss. It wasn't nearly as neat as the one she had received but when a low small sound escaped from Ava's throat, Sara stopped thinking altogether.

Their kisses remained light. Slow. New. Exploratory. Lovely. The senses of each were heightened - tasting each others lips, tracing skin with their fingertips, aware of the smell of their hair, the sound of each other's shallow breathing and the nervous, sensual energy of each merging.

When they finally parted, Ava took the same small step back. Sara let her heels hit the rug and looked up into Ava's face. Neither woman was very shy. Ava reached for Sara's hands, their fingers held on and thumbs caressed knuckles, each smiling a small smile at the other.

"Still scared?" Sara asked in earnest.

"Only a very little" replied Ava seriously.

"And you say that I am brave."

"I do."

"As are you, admitting that you are scared and staying with it, despite the fear."

"Hm. I never thought about it like that. Im very glad I did."

"Me too."


End file.
